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Fury Dave F Looking at my 351w I'm trying to figure out exactly what I have. The block is cast C90E-6015-B and the heads are cast 351 and W with the number 8M17. The book I have the C90E on the block means 69 or 70 and 351 W on the heads obviously mean 351 head from the Windsor foundry. The other numbers 6015-B on the block and 8M17 on the heads don't jive with what I"m reading about Ford "date codes"...HELP!!! #1 · Sep 20, 2008 Looking at my 351w I'm trying to figure out exactly what I have. The block is cast C90E-6015-B and the heads are cast 351 and W with the number 8M17. The book I have the C90E on the block means 69 or 70 and 351 W on the heads obviously mean 351 head from the Windsor foundry. The other numbers 6015-B on the block and 8M17 on the heads don't jive with what I"m reading about Ford "date codes"...HELP!!! Sort by Oldest first Oldest first Newest first Most reactions #2 · Sep 20, 2008 The 6015-B is Ford's part # for an engine block. They all have it somewhere I think. C9OE is correctly matched to 69/70 351 Windsors. 8M17 is 1968 December 17th, Ford does not use the letter I in their month codes. So you got 68 heads on your 69 block which is almost understandable if you can find the date code on the block and it's Jan or Feb of 1969.... #3 · Sep 20, 2008 because they are not the date codes they are just i forget what they are called but revision numbers or whatever ford numbers are never as simple as DOVE there is always a suffix after that telling you exactly what it is.. the 8M17 could mean 1968/December/17th #4 · Sep 20, 2008 stop stealing my thunder GARY! #5 · Sep 20, 2008 (Edited) the 8M17 is December 1968 the 17 day remember ford never used I for a month ,A was January m was December C9 indicates model yearpart was intended for 6015 indicates a block - B would be the revision of the block the O is what it was intended for example z is for Mustang . #6 · Sep 20, 2008 I beat you two... nya nya nya nya nyaaaaaaa..... #7 · Sep 20, 2008 Thanks for the help guys...After looking again the date code on the block is 8A29. Jan of 68??? it's in my 69 torino. Also the heads have slot type ajustable rockers like a 289 or 302 and my 69 service manual shows the windsor heads as having nonajustable rocker gear. #8 · Sep 22, 2008 does anyone know what engine is the FE C5AE-A??? I HAVE THIS ENGINE BUT I DONT KNOW IF ITS A 427, A 390... #9 · Sep 22, 2008 By 1965 a 427 is easy to tell from the rest . They had side oiling passages and ross bolt mains ,a 406 would have cross bolt mains but were not built in 1965. Ford also built a 410 in 65 . #10 · Sep 23, 2008 Oh crap it's HELLA EASY... The 390 bore is 4.05" and the 427 has a bore of 4.23. There are very FEW 390's that can take that bore.... So it's likely not a 390 if you have a 4.23" bore. #11 · Sep 23, 2008 but according to the website that tells that this engine is a 427, its a top oiler... #12 · Sep 24, 2008 Well the web site is wrong. All 1965-67 427's are side oilers. You have another thread asking the same question. I have responded there but will post the same info here. Here is the break down of the casting number. "C" is the decade. example, B=60's, C=60's, D=70's, etc. "5" is the year of the decade. C5 = 1965. The third letter is the car line it was originally designed for but it could have been factory installed in other cars too. Thats why you can't tell for sure what this motor came out of. "A" = all full sized products, Ford, Galaxie LTD etc. "M'= Mercury, "O" = Fairlane, Torino etc. The forth letter is the engineering dept. responsible for the design. The "E"= engine, "B"= body, "A"= chassis and so on. The fifth letter is the design change. "A" is the first design, "B" is the second design change and so on. All 1963-64 427's were top oilers and all 1965-67 were side oilers. Look for the oil galley running along the left side of the block. If the oil galley is there and along with the fact you said it has a 4.23 bore it is a 427 side oiler. You also stated that is is .030 over bore. Thats a potential problem. Although I am certainly no expert it's my understand that most if not all 427 blocks will not take more than a .030 over bore as the cylinder walls are very thin. I think some will go .040 over but not to many. Have it sonic checked. If what you have will clean up with a hone at .030 you are fine, if not you have a nice anchor. Of course they can be sleeved. Just to muddy the waters here a little more, Ford was famous for mixing casting forms on their blocks. I have seen C3AE-M (427 top oiler blocks) that were actually 390's. They would mix the lower half and the upper cylinder forms to make what they needed at the time. So with the early top oiler casting number you were never sure what you have unless you opened it up. The 390,406 and the 427 share the same 3.78" stroke, so you have to be very careful and always check the bore. Also look for the three bolt heads that run along side the lower portion of the pan rail. They go through the block and cross bolt the main caps. If they are there it will be a 427. I am 100% sure of what I have told you except the part about the over bore. The rest you can bank on. Hope this helps. Brett 0 Reply Insert Quotes Post Reply

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